Thursday 29 November 2012

What would you make?

Like most women of her generation, my mother-in-law was crafty.  She knew how to knit, crochet, and sew, and probably dabbled in other things like tatting or weaving, based on the materials found around her house.  Since she passed away last year, her sons have been slowly clearing out the house.  Since she had no daughters, and her sons aren't much for sewing, a few remaining sewing supplies have come home with me. 


This bag of zippers looked promising, until I pulled them all out. 


150cm = not much shorter than me



What would you do with 13 white zippers that are almost as tall as you? 

15 comments:

  1. Looks like they're duvet zippers, or at least that's what I used when I made my covers. I was searching for that zipper length last year when I made the stretch fleece mattress cover for my kids bouncy mattress! Fabricland don't carry them anymore, or at least my local one doesn't.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That was my first thought too, but how many duvet covers does one need to make? Even including children and grandchildren, there were only 9 people!

      Delete
  2. Body bags?! Jumpsuits with the zip down the leg as well?!
    You can always make them whatever shorter length you'd actually use of course, but what *were* these for?!?!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think perhaps they were for a church fair project? Or maybe it was a baker's dozen on special, and like most of us, she couldn't pass up a good deal on sewing notions.

      Delete
  3. Hello! You didn't mention if the zippers are metal or nylon, but if they are nylon, you could make the zippers into any shorter size that you wish by sewing a " stop" at the desired size (by sewing back & forth across the teeth) and cutting off the excess zipper. Of course, being a scientist and enjoying a challenge, you could also engineer a continuous spiral zip into one of your garment creations! Love your blog, btw. Lynn (a fellow sewing scientist)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lynn - yep, I thought about doing some weird Project Runway unusual materials challenge where I could use all of them in one garment, but I don't think gimicky works as well in real life! I'll certainly shorten some and use them, but I don't often sew with white or light coloured fabrics. They may sit around in my stash for a long while too.

      Delete
  4. Cushions? Garment bags? I remember seeing a tutorial somewhere for a self-stitched garment bag. Or just shorten them. That's usually not too hard.

    :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think I'll save a few for duvet covers and then shorten the rest. At least that way, they won't lay dormant in my stash until my own kids have to clear out my sewing area.

      Delete
  5. Dry cleaning shops are often asked to repair items that are brought in for cleaning. You may even get a few dollars out of this..... Just a thought.

    ReplyDelete
  6. a gown with princess seams aaaaaaallllll the way down, and the center panel is entirely made of zips. oooh A WEDDING GOWN. for easy access after "i do"!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nothing says Classy Lady like a zip off wedding gown ;)

      Didn't Mena make you do an O.D.I. with a huge zipper? I'm going to have to go back and look for that one now.....

      Delete
  7. Here you have an idea http://www.craftycorner.co.za/store/bags/zip-bags/zip-bags.html

    ReplyDelete
  8. A ONESIE! A FLEECE ONESIE WITH FEET AND A ZIPPER GOING ALL THE WAY DOWN THE LEG.

    Sorry. I got so excited that my brain was thinking in caps lock.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Make rosettes with just part of one side of a zipper (if you need a really big bunch of rosettes, maybe to cover a tent)?

    ReplyDelete
  10. That is funny. I can only imagine what the lucky person will think when they go through my stuff. The first thing that came to mind was one of those zipper purses. Not sure how it's made but it does use a lot of zippers.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...